B2 The EU’s Enlargement: Where do we go from here? The Balkans and Turkey

Chair: Zoran Kurelić (Central European University, Budapest)

The political concept of "the Balkans" was usually, consciously or unconsciously, understood as the ‘Mr. Hyde’ part of Europe. Did January 1 2007 change this perception? The fact that Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU changed not only the perception of the Balkans but the perception of the EU in the region as well. It seems that the European Union suddenly became much less attractive for the few countries in Southern Europe waiting to become members of the Union.

A number of questions are raised as a consequence. Does Thessalonica Agenda work? What is left of conditionality policy? How effective is the EU assistance in the region. How does the post January 1 Balkans affect the constitutions of national identities in the region? Can balkanization turn into ‘scandinavization’?. And what implications do these developments have on the prospect of Turkish membership of the EU. This panel invites papers which  present methodologically different approaches to these questions, from comparative politics, to political theory, and from cultural issues to policy analysis.